This article looks at the 11 best American defense stocks to buy now.

America’s defense sector has struggled under Trump’s second term as president, amid mixed views on military expenditure in the early days of his second stint. Shares were volatile last month following his statement to cut defense spending in the future, and later in response to a contentious spat with visiting Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, at the Oval Office.

The creation of DOGE is also reshaping investors’ views of the industry. Byron Callan, managing partner at Capital Alpha Partners, believes there is a high level of uncertainty in the US defense sector related to current and future programs and the likelihood of severe cuts to government workforces.

READ ALSO: 13 Best Defense Stocks to Buy According to Billionaires and 10 Best Large Cap Defense Stocks to Buy Now.

On the other hand, Trump’s pivot on Ukraine has fueled robust gains in defense stocks elsewhere, especially in Europe, where several armament manufacturers have seen double-digit growth this year, with some even reaching record highs, as governments faced pressures to increase military expenditure.

Washington has repeatedly called for Europe to spend more on defense, while stressing that the US could no longer foot the bill. EU leaders met in Brussels last week to discuss the ‘ReArm Europe Plan’, which will allow the bloc to mobilize funds up to $860 million through bonds and relaxed rules on borrowing and spending.

According to a report in Reuters, asset managers across Europe are planning to increase exposure to defense stocks, under pressure from investors and politicians to loosen restrictions. Funds that have been badged as ‘sustainable’ under the EU’s rules are required to ensure their investments do no significant harm, because of which they tend to avoid the sector completely.

Several Korean companies have also benefited from Europe’s defense splurge. While the performance of the US defense sector was lagging behind Europe and Asia well before the presidential elections, the gap has widened after Trump’s victory.

Despite a grim outlook, Citi analyst, Jason Gursky, is urging investors that this is the right time to buy American defense stocks. Here is what he wrote in a note to clients last week:

“We recognize the world order is evolving under the current President, perhaps to a multi-polar one in which three countries control spheres of influence over the Americas, Europe and Asia. However, we don’t view that world to be any less dangerous or one that decreases the need to acquire the tools of deterrence.”

Trump’s recent statement on resurrecting American military and commercial shipbuilding has also been well-received. Shares of a major naval defense contractor have surged over the past week, following the announcement. The US president has vowed to fix the industry, which he sees as vital to national security, given the strategic competition with China. Given this, we will take a look at some of the best defense stocks to buy.

Our Methodology:

For this article, we sifted through screeners to identify American stocks in the aerospace and defense industry. From there, we selected the 11 stocks with the highest number of hedge fund investors, based on Insider Monkey’s database of over 1,000 prominent hedge funds as of Q4 2024.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).

11 Best American Defense Stocks to Buy Now

11. Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE:CW)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 50

Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE:CW) provides engineered products, solutions and services for the aerospace and defense markets. The company operates through three segments: Aerospace & Industrial, Defense Electronics, and Naval & Power.

On March 11, the Naval Air Systems Command awarded Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE:CW)’s Defense Solutions Division a $50 million IDIQ contract to provide high-speed data acquisition systems for its Special Flight Test Instrumentation Pool. The contract is scheduled to run through January 2030.

Earlier in the month, the company also received an $18 million follow-on order from the Marine Corps to provide tactical communications technology for the Application Server Module (ASM), which is part of the Combat Data Network (CDN) program. Under the contract, Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE:CW) will supply its PacStar 451 Server, PacStar 453 GPU Enhanced Server, and PacStar 448 10-port 10 GbE Switch modules.

In January this year, Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE:CW) completed the $200 million acquisition of Ultra Energy, a manufacturer of reactor protection systems, radiation and neutron monitoring systems, and temperature and pressure sensors to ensure the safe operation of nuclear reactors and other power generation plants.

Recent defense contracts and the strategic acquisition of Ultra Energy position the company well for growth over the long run. Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE:CW) had a robust fiscal 2024, with sales growing 10% year-over-year to $3.1 billion. Adjusted diluted EPS was logged at $10.90, increasing 16% compared to the prior year. It ended the year with an impressive order backlog of $3.4 billion.

According to Insider Monkey’s database for Q4 2024, 50 hedge funds held a stake in the company. It is one of the best defense stocks to buy now.

10. Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 54

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) is one of the largest defense contractors in the world. It is the manufacturer of the B-21 Raider for the United States Air Force (USAF), which is intended to replace the aging B-1B Lancer and B-2 Spirit fleets.

On March 5, the company announced that it was delivering strong performance in the test and production of the B-21 Raider. During Q4 last year, it received an LRIP Lot 2 award, signalling the Air Force’s confidence in the program’s progress.

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) continues to receive high-value defense contracts, which has made it an attractive stock for investors. On March 12, the Department of Defense awarded a $16.6 million contract to NOC’s business segment, Defense Systems, to aid Lebanon Air Force’s C-208 Aircraft.

Last month, Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) received two contracts, both focused on IBCS, with a total value of $1.4 billion, to modernize the air and missile defense capabilities of the United States and Poland. It also signed a MoU with Hanwha Systems to produce ALMDS hardware components for South Korea’s Mine Countermeasures Helicopter (KMCH) program.

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)’s sales climbed 4% in fiscal 2024 to reach $41 billion. Net awards for the year totaled $50.6 billion, enabling the company to end the year with a record backlog of $91.5 billion. According to Insider Monkey’s database for Q4 2024, 54 hedge funds held a stake in the company. It is one of the best defense stocks to buy now.